By John Shea
August 9, 2018
Barry Bonds’ number-retirement party, set for Saturday, hits home for Andrew McCutchen. Like Bonds, McCutchen was a league MVP outfielder in Pittsburgh before joining the Giants.
Two differences, though: McCutchen was traded (Bonds signed as a free agent) and arrived at a more advanced age.
“To have that honor, I think it’s pretty cool for him,” McCutchen said Thursday. “I’m happy to be here and be a part of it.”
McCutchen, 31, was 6 when Bonds joined the Giants in 1993 — wearing No. 25, also his dad Bobby’s number — and vividly recalls Bonds’ path to the all-time home run record, set in 2007. When Bonds became the season homers king in 2001, McCutchen was 14.
“Growing up as a kid, I always sat down in front of the TV to watch him hit a home run,” McCutchen said. “That was it. I didn’t care about a single or walk or double or triple. I wanted to see a homer. I wasn’t the only kid or even adult who felt like that. He might’ve been the only person of that era who made a base hit seem pretty boring. You got upset if he got a base hit.”
Now that they’re both on the same payroll, McCutchen has gotten to know Bonds better, starting in spring training. Bonds is a Giants special adviser.
“He looks at the game through a different lens compared with a lot of people,” McCutchen said. “It’s one of the reasons he was the player he was. To pick his brain a little bit every now and then, it’s really neat. He’s a scholar in the game. You’ve got a question, he’s going to answer it in a different way than someone else may answer it.
“His brain is literally different. ... I might be thinking just hit the ball up the middle. He’s thinking in a totally different lens. He’s thinking about catching the ball with his bat. Little things like that.”
Asked about the Hall of Fame, which has been out of Bonds’ reach because of his link to performance-enhancing drugs, McCutchen said, “I don’t make those decisions. Nothing I could say about it. He has the numbers to be there.”
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